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www.papakuracourier.co.nz
7
PAPAKURA COURIER, FEBRUARY 22, 2012
NEWS
To get everything you need to have your say on MMP:
visit www.mmpreview.org.nz
call 0800 36 76 56
HERE'S WHAT WE'LL
BE LOOKING AT
IN THE REVIEW OF MMP.
This year's Electoral Commission review of MMP will look at how the
system works - and we want to hear from you! Some of the issues are:
What thresholds should parties have to cross to qualify
for an allocation of list seats in Parliament?
Should a list MP be able to stand as a candidate
in a by-election?
Should a person be able to stand as a candidate
in an electorate seat, and also be on a party list?
Should voters be able to rank list MPs in the order
they want, rather than the order of the political parties?
What should happen when a party wins more electorate
seats than it would get under its share of the party vote?
How should we manage the proportion of electorate seats
to list seats as our population grows over time?
Your submission can be about any aspect of the way MMP operates, except for
the overall size of Parliament (120 MPs) or the Maori seats. They can be made
until 31 May - online, emailed, or sent through the post - we can even provide
an easy submission guide!
74
84
94
:4
ECF0122
More nanas needed for Porse roles
Play time: Carol Stearn from Papakura looks after her grandson Blake Viliamu, 3, and a friend's daughter, Jessica Yeh.
Photo: FIONA GOODALL
By MELISSA KINEALY
Carol Stearn loves caring for
other people's children -- and
her own grandkids too of
course.
The busy nana is self-
employed through Porse and
having been a stay-at-home
mum to her five children
she's already armed with all
the skills needed to give kids
the best start in life.
Porse is an in-home
childcare organisation whose
name stands for Play,
Observe, Relate, Support and
Extend.
It's suffering a shortage of
educators in Papakura and
needs people like Ms Stearn
to come on board.
Ms Stearn first heard
about Porse after her eldest
grandson, who's now seven,
was looked after by a Porse
educator.
She gave up her fulltime
job as a doctor's receptionist
to look after her grandson
Blake at the end of 2008 and
since August last year she's
been looking after two-and-a-
half-year-old Jessica Yeh.
Jessica spoke no English
when she first came into Ms
Stearn's care. She just loves
taking care of the little girl
two days a week and says
she's picking up words of
English which is great to see.
We just have a lot of fun.''
Jessica doesn't have
grandparents in the country
and refers to Ms Stearn as
nana. She also gets a chance
to mix with Ms Stearn's
80-year-old mother.
Ms Stearn keeps a journal
recording what the children
do each day which includes
activities like exploring in the
bush and taking part in Porse
run activities.
You educate them through
everyday things. It's good for
them to be out and about in
the community.
You get so much closer to
your grandkids and you get to
meet a lot of grandmothers
looking after kids.''
Since starting with Porse,
she's completed the free
national certificate in early
childhood education and care,
a 19-week distance learning
course, and other courses.
Porse has a ratio of one
adult to four kids with a
maximum of two under-two.
Go to www.porse.co.nz or
phone 0800-023-456 for more
information.